New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC) Stake Increased by Muzinich & Co. Inc.

Muzinich & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of New Mountain Finance Co. (NASDAQ:NMFC) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 346,118 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,827 shares during the quarter. New Mountain Finance accounts for approximately 2.9% of Muzinich & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Muzinich & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of New Mountain Finance worth $4,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in New Mountain Finance during the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of New Mountain Finance by 68.3% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,342 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in New Mountain Finance during the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in New Mountain Finance during the second quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in New Mountain Finance in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $126,000. 32.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven B. Klinsky acquired 150,609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $10.87 per share, with a total value of $1,637,119.83. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,632,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,483,383.62. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John Kline bought 41,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $10.92 per share, with a total value of $453,726.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 351,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,841,470.36. This trade represents a 13.39 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 10.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of New Mountain Finance from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

New Mountain Finance Stock Performance

Shares of NMFC stock opened at $11.53 on Friday. New Mountain Finance Co. has a fifty-two week low of $10.61 and a fifty-two week high of $13.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $11.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $12.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The firm has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 1.15.

New Mountain Finance (NASDAQ:NMFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $95.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.10 million. New Mountain Finance had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 30.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. Analysts predict that New Mountain Finance Co. will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

New Mountain Finance Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 11.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This is a positive change from New Mountain Finance’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. New Mountain Finance’s payout ratio is presently 121.91%.

New Mountain Finance Profile

New Mountain Finance Corporation (Nasdaq: NMFC), a business development company is a private equity / buyouts and loan fund specializes in directly investing and lending to middle market companies in defensive growth industries. The fund prefers investing in buyout and middle market companies. It also makes investments in debt securities at all levels of the capital structure including first and second lien debt, unsecured notes, and mezzanine securities.